Can't get past 400FSB on an MSI P45 Platinum with E8400. Help Please?

Hi,

This is my first overclocking experience:

MSI P45 Platinum
E8400
OCZ Rev. 2 Platinum PC 6400 (800mhz)

I set the CPU/RAM ratio to 1:1

Upped FSB to 400 to get 3600mhz

Stable as a rock.

Aything between 400 - 415 FSB will boot but then BSOD during 3dMark 06.

Anything over 415 FSB will boot to BIOS but hang at OS startup.

Using Vista x86 Ultimate.

No voltage changes (how?) and using stock cooler.

I was hoping to get it to 3.825 on stock cooler. Ambient case temp is 27C.

At 3.6 CPU Temps range between 45 - 47 C which I think is pretty OK for stock cooling.

How to I grab my next 200mhz? I want a 5.9 Vista score (CPU stuck at 5.8) and to break 14000 on 3DMark06 (Stuck at 13200 w/ HD 4850).

I will soon return it for a 4870 because my 1200 x 1600 Gaming still has v-sync issues (with it "forced" on... weird? explanation?) Should I be using 4850 Crossfire for flawless gaming at this resolution? I don't AA because my pixel pitch is so tight I don't see jaggies. Still witht he V-Sync though, really mucks up my gaming buzz.

THANKS!

southpark2033 said:

No voltage changes (how?) and using stock cooler.

Click to expand...

What does this statement mean? You don't know how to bump the voltage? You seem pretty knowlegable, I'm confused...

I don't know if its the voltage that should be increasced or if my RAM is holding me back. When I BSOD'd it said it was performing a "physical memory dump" leading me to think that the RAM wasn't liking the frequency boost. I have no idea if this is right. I also don't know how much voltage to add if I need to, wether or not it's even neccessary, wether the cooling is sufficient, and what the risks are involved. I don't want to fry the processor. I really am new to this. Also should I be increascing RAM voltage? I have no idea.

First off. The "memory dump" is a red herring. Windows always does that when it BSODs, it's so you can work out what what going on when it went dead. Though you'd have to read back the dump and be able to make sense of it.

I overclocked my E8400 to 3.60FGhz yesterday (400Mhz * 9). So what you say. I couldn't get it to this speed without changing the CPU voltage. It just wouldn't stay stable. However, after bumping the voltage a bit, it was just fine. Now, I've got a Gigabyte board not an MSI P45 so there will be differences.

Basically, I shoved up the CPU voltage from 1.2250v to 1.2625v. I did this from the app. that came with the motherboard though I could easily have done it from the BIOS. And the E8400 remained stable at that voltage.

Now, I also thought that my memory was giving me gyp, the Gigabyte boards allow you to change the voltage for the NorthBridge too (MCH), so I hoofed that up from 1.1v to 1.2v just in case (also there was some annecdotal info. on the internet that suggested that Gigabyte mobos need some of this for any overclocking).

How risky is it to change voltages for components? Is *stock* cooling ok for a small bump to 3.825 Ghz?

EDIT: I just re-read the BIOS section in my manual. Says that all voltage settings are NOT adjustable? WTF?

southpark2033 said:

How risky is it to change voltages for components? Is *stock* cooling ok for a small bump to 3.825 Ghz?

Click to expand...

Difficult to say, the theoretical max temperature for the E8400 is just north of 100deg C. Though, you'd want it no where near that. You can always make the change to the voltage and check to see if your CPU is running too hot, then bump it back if it is.

Get the RealTemp app to check (http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/).

From the RealTemp window; the top temps are your current CPU temperatures, the next set are the difference between the current temp and the max operating temperature (how much you have left to go). However, from what I've been seeing on this forum, < 70 deg C is where you want to be.

Regarding the stock HSF. For some reason the E8400 stock HSF looks even more piddly than the one I got with my E6450, so I'd think about ditching it anyway. I have a badly mounted Scythe Mini-Ninja that I badly mounted myself (and must get round to re-mounting).

NVM PgUp PgDn adjust all voltage values. I feel like my Antec 900 will keep it cool enough. I am on low settings right now too, medium is a switch flip away. I'm not afraid of hitting low 50's C IF I am getting a benefit from it. If this turns out bad, Ill splurge on aftermarket. I only need 200 more mhz anyway, I predict. If not, I will spend money to go to 4.0 GHz.



Any advice on the video card? Is a 4870 enough? my 4850 is just shy of providing flawless high res gaming. I probably need a 4870 or a CF of the 4850 (but thats a LOT of money). Will I get what I'm looking for with the 4870?

southpark2033 said:

Any advice on the video card? Is a 4870 enough? my 4850 is just shy of providing flawless high res gaming. I probably need a 4870 or a CF of the 4850 (but thats a LOT of money). Will I get what I'm looking for with the 4870?

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I have a 4870, but I upgraded from something a lot worse (a Nvidia 9600GT). I've only just started overclocking my CPU, haven't got anywhere near my GPU yet and haven't flipped Crysis on after the CPU overclock to 3.60Ghz, though I get P7900+ in 3D Mark Vantage.

(and prior to the overclock I had Crysis running with a touch of a jerk in Very High (4xAF) @ 1610*1080)

The price of the 4870 isn't insignificant, 180+ GBP is still a lot of money to spend on a graphics card, especially if you've just spent money on a 4850. I'd be checking round the benchmarking websites to see the differences between the 4850 (in various configurations), the 4870 and the 4870x2

I'd bump ur NB Volts up to around 1.38 and see if it solves ur problems. So long as you've got good case airflow, these voltages shouldn't damage anything.

Especially if your running a crossfire setup, the NB will have more stress than usual.

So I guess I should be happy that I got 3.6 Ghz for free, with no voltage changes... Is that a good result?

Most E8400 at 3.6-3.8Ghz run stable around the 1.3v range. BSOD messages indicating page faults in non paged areas suggest the need to up the voltage to your RAM. I don't know what your BSOD reads, but upping the memory volts a little may stabilize your rig. Memory can hold back an overclock for sure. BTW what board & power supply are you using? Consider also a switch to Windows 7 preferably x64. Vista is a resource hog.

southpark2033 said:

So I guess I should be happy that I got 3.6 Ghz for free, with no voltage changes... Is that a good result?

Click to expand...

That's all the stock heatsink can handle anyway with prime95

Can you adjust your voltage on that board.